Eleven whole years had passed when Lewis popped up again. In the year 1981, the actor and director returned with the film “Hardly Working.” The film told the story of an out-of-work clown who tries to make it in regular 9-to-5 jobs.
Unfortunately, it was totally trashed by critics, but it did at least succeed as a commercial hit, earning roughly $50 million. Lewis was certainly back and put that clown character to better use.
The Day Jerry Lewis Cried
Too many factors prevented the completion of the film. One of them was the fact that Lewis was not happy with the end result. As a person of Jewish heritage, the subject matter was very emotionally difficult for him, and Lewis felt that he just could not be satisfied with the end result, especially while he was being confronted with quite a lot of backlash from studio executives.
The film's release marked a groundbreaking change in American cinema. It would be another 13 years until the world would witness Claude Lanzmann’s groundbreaking film, "Shoah," and over 20 years before Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler’s List."
Taking a Breath
Though the complete film was never shown in the end, there was a 31-minute version of the film that was screened on a German TV station (ARD) in the documentary called "Der Clown."
The knock to his career and his reputation set him back for some time. Feeling that he had done whatever he could in comedy but not fully achieving his dreams in the world drama, Lewis left showbiz for a few years.
The King of Comedy
After earning his spot back in Tinsletown, Mr. Jerry Lewis looked for more challenging roles to sink his teeth into. And that came in the form of Martin Scorsese's stellar 1982 black comedy, "The King of Comedy." Who better to star in this one than the King of Comedy himself.
The film told the story of a late-night TV host who has to deal with an obsessive fan. The film got him major critical acclaim as well as a BAFTA nomination. Fun fact, the 2019 hit "The Joker" heavily references the film. It's no coincidence that Robert DeNiro stars in both.
Then There Was a Stalker
Speaking of obsession, during the late '80s, Lewis and his family were haunted by an unknown stalker who would relentlessly harass them. It took ages to uncover the truth about who this person was. Eventually, they discovered his identity, and they were shocked.
The stalker turned out to be a man named Gary Benson, a boyfriend of a former housekeeper. Benson was sentenced to prison in 1994.